


A Simple Act

by Liz_87



Category: Casualty (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:27:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24539227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liz_87/pseuds/Liz_87
Summary: Pre-ep to series 33 episode 16.
Relationships: Lisa "Duffy" Duffin/Charlie Fairhead
Kudos: 4





	A Simple Act

Charlie reentered their bedroom after his morning shower to find Duffy still sat at her dressing table, looking into the mirror, various hair accessories and make up items scattered across the surface in front of her. Buttoning up his shirt he watched her once again attempt to start braiding her hair ready for work. She was able to divide her hair into sections but each time she lifted her left arm to begin weaving the sections together he'd see, via the mirror's reflection, her wince silently in pain.

"Why don't you just tie it back in a ponytail if your shoulder is still bothering you?" He suggested.

She sighed. "I can manage Charlie."

"Maybe you should stay home another day if you're struggling..."

She rolled her eyes at him through the mirror. "I'm perfectly fine now. I'm needed at work and I'd go crazy spending another day here all by myself while you're on shift."

He walked over to her and placed his hand on her right shoulder. "I could help you put it up?"

She turned and looked at him aghast. "Have you ever actually styled hair before?"

He looked down shyly. "I used to sometimes brush my mother's for her. When she was poorly." He replied quietly.

Duffy's features softened at his admission and she raised her hand to grasp his. He didn't often speak about his mum. She knew the topic caused him great pain so she didn't push him further. She squeezed his hand and smiled gently at him. She tilted her head and her smile widened. "Right then, let's put your hairdressing skills to the test."

"Um... OK..." He moved to stand behind her and ran his fingers through her hair nervously.

"Do you need me to talk you through it?"

"I can manage! I've seen you do it enough times. It can't be that difficult."

Taking the brush from her outstretched hand he used it to begin to seperate her hair, trying not to get distracted by the silky softness of the strands between his fingers.

Charlie eventually managed to get the top part of her hair into three equal sections but then stopped. What now? He'd been so confident when he'd suggested the idea, not thinking for one second that she'd actually take him up on the offer. He was quickly realising that although he had indeed watched her do her hair many times in the past he hadn't actually been paying attention to what she was doing, there had been far too many other things to distract his focus away from that. 

Seeing his indecision and confusion in the mirror, Duffy giggled. "Left over middle then right over middle."

Well that just baffled him further! Why did women's hairstyles have to sound like such a riddle? Then he suddenly realised, he was holding three sections of hair - left, right and middle... He shook his head, chuckling to himself, and began to slowly plait her hair.

"Make sure you bring in the side sections as you work your way down. You also need to plait it tighter than that or it's going to start falling out later." She pointed out as she watched him in the mirror.

He continued til he reached the hair near her ears. Lifting it as carefully as he could he still caught sight of her wincing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I was trying my best to be gentle." He said sadly.

"You didn't hurt me, it's fine." She replied softly, attempting to reassure him.

"Your face told a different story sweetheart."

She sighed and their eyes met in the mirror. He bent down and placed a gentle kiss next to the scar that was still healing under her hair. "You really scared me when you called last week. I couldn't bare the thought..." His eyes shone with unshed tears and he didn't trust himself to finish the sentence.

"Hey, come on. I'm fine. I've already said I'll be more careful in future."

Charlie sighed and turned to continue braiding Duffy's hair. Why was she still insisting on putting on a brave face? Even when they were alone. Finishing the braid, he held out his hand as she passed him a hair tie to secure the ends together. "Now what?" He asked.

"Twist it under and pin it in place." She instructed, handing him a couple of grips.

He quickly completed the task and stood back slightly. "Ta da!" He announced with a grin.

Duffy tilted her head to look at how he'd gotten on, the serious look on her face spoiled by the mischievous glint in her eyes. "Not bad for a beginner." She concluded.

"I'll let you struggle by yourself in future then." He pouted playfully.

She twisted on the stool to face him and placed her arms around his waist. "Thank you for helping me Charlie." She replied with a smile.

Leaning back she caught sight of the clock on the bedside table. "Is that the time already?" She exclaimed. "Can you go check everything is ready downstairs while I do my make up quickly?"

After Charlie left the room she looked down at the various items on the table in front of her. She sighed, she didn't really feel like making much effort but also didn't want to look like crap either. She settled on a light base with just a bit of mascara and lipstick. That'd do. Looking back over at the clock she saw they needed to leave right now or they would be late for their shift.

Standing in the hallway Charlie saw her leave their bedroom and hurry towards the stairs, throwing items into her handbag as she did so. "Duffy! Look where you're going and don't run down the stairs!" He called up at her.

She reached the bottom of the stairs and almost crashed into him. "Huh?" She finally looked up from her bag.

"Do you want to end up a patient again? You didn't even look as you ran down the stairs!" He tried to keep the panicked anger from his voice but some leaked into his tone.

Her harsh reply died on her tongue as she looked at his face and saw the genuine terror in his eyes. She placed her arms around his waist and kissed him gently. "Sorry." She replied, looking sheepish. "I didn't think."

Charlie stroked her cheek and gave her an indulgent smile. "Whatever am I going to do with you eh?"

"Well you could drive me to work before we're both late." She giggled, attempting to lighten the mood. 

"Alright, alright, lead the way." He laughed as they walked to his car.

The first part of the journey passed in comfortable quietness but as they pulled up at the traffic lights leading into the town centre Charlie turned to look over at Duffy with a smile. "I've been thinking..."

"Do I need to brace myself for this?" She chuckled.

"You know how I said I was going to make more time for us? Well I think we should plan some adventures, make some unforgettable memories while we have the chance to."

Panic gripped Duffy's chest at his words. How did he know? He couldn't possibly have seen the tablet. Was this his way of raising the topic? She snapped her head around to look at him but at just that moment the traffic lights changed to green and his attention was diverted back to the road. No, she was just being paranoid. She needed to calm down. She took a deep breath and swallowed. "So, um, what did you have in mind for these adventures?"

As they turned another corner the familiar outline of the hospital buildings loomed into view. "Well you can get these experience days. I saw them online. There's all sorts of different ones - car racing, spa days..."

"Car racing?!" She repeated incredulously.

"It was just an example. Actually there was one I saw that looked good. Give me a moment to park the car and I'll show it to you."


End file.
